American Football Coaches Association
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| American Football Coaches Association | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Waco, Texas |
| Membership | 10000 |
| Executive Director | Grant Teaff |
| Key people | Tyrone Willingham (President) |
| Website | afca.com |
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of football coaches on all levels and is responsible for the Coaches Poll that determines the national champion each year. The American Football Coaches Association is also responsible for the Top 25 poll for Division II and Division III.
The AFCA was founded in a meeting for 43 coaches at the Hotel Astor in New York City on Dec. 27, 1921. It is headquartered in Waco, Texas (the headquarters building is located across from Baylor University, formerly coached by AFCA executive director Grant Teaff).
Maj. Charles Daly of the U.S. Military Academy was the first president. He was followed by John Heisman. Other presidents have included Bear Bryant, Darrell Royal, Eddie Robinson, Bo Schembechler and Vince Dooley.
In 2006 the Association has 10,000 members and represents coaches at all levels including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the National Junior College Athletic Association, the National Federation of State High School Associations, the National Football League, the Canadian Football League, USA Football, the National Football Foundation, College Football Hall of Fame, and Pop Warner Football.
Since 1940 it has awarded the annual Amos Alonzo Stagg Award to the "individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football."
The Association has established a code of ethics and has made safety recommendations. It teams with USA Today and ESPN for the Division I-A Coaches Poll.
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[edit] All-American Teams
Since 1945, the American Football Coaches Association has selected an All-American team. It is the only one selected exclusively NCAA the coaches themselves.
The AFCA currently selects an All-American team in four divisions: Division I-A, Division I-AA, Division II (NCAA Division II and all NAIA teams) and Division III (NCAA Division III teams). From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — NCAA Division I-A and NCAA Division I-AA, yielding the four teams the Association names every November. In 1996, the College I and College II divisions were renamed AFCA Division II and AFCA Division III respectively.
All four AFCA divisions have an All-America Selection Committee consisting of a committee chairman, a district representative head coach from each of the AFCA districts in each division and two committeemen in each district who are also head coaches. The selection committees in each division conduct a conference call to select the team. The committee chairman and the district representatives are on the call. The district committeemen are not. Prior to the call, the district chairmen and his committeemen are responsible for gathering information on worthy players in their districts. In Division I-A, each head coach is polled in the preseason and at mid-season and asked for up to three deserving All-America candidates on their team and up to three players on other teams. Then in late October, the coaches vote on a 25-player team. The voting results are a part of the information that is considered when the selection committee names the team.
The Coaches’ All-America Team has been sponsored by various entities throughout the years but it is now under its own banner, the AFCA. These are the sponsors/publishers of the team throughout the years.
1945-47: Published in Saturday Evening Post
1948-56: Published in Collier's
1957-59: General Mills
1960-93: Eastman Kodak
1994: Schooner’s International
1995-96: AFCA
1997-1999: Burger King
2000-present: AFCA
[edit] AFCA National Championship Trophy
The AFCA National Championship Trophy is the trophy awarded by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the winner of college football's BCS National Championship Game, which determines the national champion for purposes of the Coaches Poll. The trophy has been awarded since 1986.
[edit] Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football.’’ The award is named in honor of Amos Alonzo Stagg, who was instrumental in founding the AFCA in the 1920s.
[edit] Winners
[edit] Tuss McLaughry Award
The Tuss McLaughry Award, established in 1964, is given to a distinguished American (or Americans) for the highest distinction in service to others. It is named in honor of DeOrmond “Tuss” McLaughry, the first full-time secretary-treasurer of the AFCA and one of the most dedicated and influential members in the history of the Association.
Tuss McLaughry, the award's namesake, began his coaching career at his alma mater, Westminster (Pa.) College in 1916. During his early days in coaching, McLaughry spent his spare time playing pro football with the Massillon (Ohio) Tigers. Knute Rockne was a teammate. He went on to become head coach at Amherst (1922-25), Brown (1926-40), and Dartmouth (1941-55). McLaughry retired from coaching in 1954, but continued in his capacity as chairman of the Physical Education Department at Dartmouth until 1960, when he accepted the appointment with the AFCA. He retired from that position in 1965.
[edit] Winners
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[edit] See also
- List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
- AFCA National Championship Trophy
- Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
- Walter Camp Man of the Year
- Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
- Walter Camp Alumni of the Year
- National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award
- National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners
- Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA)
